How To Trim A Dogs Nails Easily At Home

The majority of dog parents rely on vets or groomers to clip their dog's nails. With a few tips, you can trim your dog's nails easily at home, take the stress out of nail grooming and save yourself time and money.

Dangers of Long, Untrimmed Nails

Outgrown, untrimmed nails can lead to a variety of health issues for your dog. Long nails are prone to accidental breakage, which can bleed profusely and be extremely painful. Also, because dogs walk on their toes and not the soles of their feet like humans, long nails put added pressure on a dog's toes and paws, leading to joint pain, arthritis, and interferes with their gait, ultimately changing the natural alignment of your dog's bone structure. Changing this natural alignment can also make your dog less steady on their feet, increasing the chance of broken bones.

Taking the Stress Out of Nail Trimming

Fear of nail trims rarely gets better without training intervention, in fact it usually gets worse. Years ago, I had a Jack Russell terrier whose fear of the clippers progressed past the point to where even with tranquilizers, the vet (plus a vet tech and a muzzle) couldn't trim her nails. Gradually, by following these tips, we were able to trim her nails at home, without sedatives.

Obviously, it's easiest to train your dog to relax during nail trims when they are puppies, but old dogs can learn new tricks too. If your older dog already has a fear associated with the clippers, often switching to a new pair of clippers that look distinctly different from the old pair can be a giant step in the right direction.

Create a Positive Association

The first thing you want to do is create a positive association between your dog and the clippers. Take out the clippers, and as soon as your dog sees them, begin rewarding your dog with treats. Then put the treats and clippers away. Repeat this as often as it takes for your dog to understand that when the clippers come out, so do the treats. (Remember from 'How Much Do Dogs Remember', a dog's short-term memory is less than 2 minutes long, so creating this positive association will take several attempts.)

Touch Their Toes

Many dogs don't like having their paws touched, so separately from your clipper and treat sessions, you want to start getting your dog comfortable with this. Begin slowly with this to keep your dog relaxed. This could mean just lightly touching your dog on the shoulder and slowly progressing to the point where your dog will let you hold their paw in your hand. A good time to do this is after a long walk or play session when your dog is good and tired. Be sure to reward your dog with treats and calm praise.

Once your dog is comfortable with you holding their paw, you can progress to touching their paw pads and nails. When your dog remains relaxed during this, begin gently touching the clippers to your dog's nails. Do not do any clipping yet, and reward your dog after each nail touch.

You may also want to get your dog used to the sound of the clipper, especially if you are using a Dremel-type trimmer. If at any point your dog begins to get stressed out, take a few steps back and remember those treats and calm praise.

It's Clipping Time

Now that your dog is relaxed and comfortable with the clippers and having their paws touched, it's time to clip. Again, start slow, and know that it's not necessary to clip every nail in one session. Begin by clipping one nail, then treat. If your dog remains relaxed, clip another nail and treat, gradually clipping more nails each session.

How to Trim the Nails

A good technique for trimming the nails is to hold the handle of the clippers flat against the toe pad and cutting straight across the nail. This technique makes it very unlikely that you will cut the nail too short, accidentally cutting into the quick.

Quick? Kwik?

The quick is the pink area within the nail where the blood vessels and nerves are. Anyone who has accidentally cut into the quick knows that this will bleed profusely so be sure to always have a styptic pencil or powder on hand.

The most important thing to remember at nail clipping time is take it slow, and if you are relaxed, your dog will be too.